


Five Things Annie Gave Jeff and One Thing Jeff Gave Annie

by Raj_Sound



Series: Things They Gave Each Other [1]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Episode: s06e13 Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Long-Distance Relationship, One Shot, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s06e13 Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raj_Sound/pseuds/Raj_Sound
Summary: It was fitting that he would use one of her pens to start working on the homework assignment she left for him, becauseof courseAnnie Edison would give him homework to do over the summer. And while he huffed and complained and rolled his eyes, Jeff Winger was secretly quite happy to look over her five-year plan as a guide to start his own. And like he had so many times before, Jeff flagrantly and unapologetically plagiarized her work (with a few changes here and there for the sake of plausible deniability) as he went about the business of working out how their lives would fit together.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Series: Things They Gave Each Other [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2143974
Comments: 30
Kudos: 103





	Five Things Annie Gave Jeff and One Thing Jeff Gave Annie

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to try a 5+1 things fic. Please let me know what you think! Thanks as always to the Discord crowd. You all are the best.

**Clipping**

Annie has a dazzling, brilliant smile on her face in the photo, her eyes sparkling with pride and joy. Jeff looks like an idiot. He still has that dopey, half-dazed look on his face, but he’s fond enough of both the photo and the memory behind it to steal the framed newspaper clipping of their debate championship win out Greendale’s sad little trophy case and hang it in a place of honor in his office. He left the actual trophy, because who cares, but his time (with her) at Greendale has made him sentimental enough to want a little reminder of her in his space.

He planned on getting the thing reframed after it someone knocked it off the wall during paintball, but it went missing immediately shortly after. He suspected that a certain cheerful rule-follower might have stolen it back from him to return it to the trophy case because _it’s school property Jeff_ , but the clipping doesn’t make an appearance in the days that follow. Instead, it showed up in his office again a few weeks later in an expensive cherry wood frame with a small engraved bronze placard in the negative space below the article.

_Proof that Jeff Winger has a heart_

_Love,_

_Annie_

Abed, to his credit, was kind enough to refrain from telling either of them that she (more than likely) got the idea from the first _Iron Man_ movie.

* * *

**Pens**

Annie didn’t give Jeff one (or two or a dozen) purple gel pens over the years per-say. She _loaned_ him pens and he simply neglected to return them. After one _minor_ pen thief-related bottle episode of a meltdown during their sophomore year, Annie resigned herself to the fact that she would be responsible for providing school supplies to the unprepared members of the study group (so, basically all of them) for the duration of her time at Greendale Community College.

Jeff, to his credit, gifted her with bulk packages of her favorite brand of purple gel pens on special occasions, or sometimes just when he was thinking about her. This almost made up for the fact that he would slowly, but surely, steal them back from her. So it was unsurprising that the first pen he found in his desk when he sat down to work was a one of Annie’s, another little tangible reminder of the mark she left on his life.

It was fitting that he would use one of her pens to start working on the homework assignment she left for him, because _of course_ Annie Edison would give him homework to do over the summer. And while he huffed and complained and rolled his eyes, Jeff Winger was secretly quite happy to look over her five-year plan as a guide to start his own. And like he had so many times before, Jeff flagrantly and unapologetically plagiarized her work (with a few changes here and there for the sake of plausible deniability) as he went about the business of working out how their lives would fit together.

* * *

**Pillows**

Jeff Winger wasn’t a decorative pillow kind of guy. His apartment was depressingly utilitarian, more like a hotel suite than an apartment. _Short-term corporate housing_ was about as concise and accurate a description as one could offer. So when Annie announced that _they_ would be hosting a Christmas party at his apartment senior year, he basically gave her free reign to decorate the space as she saw fit. It wasn’t like he was ever able to say no to her anyway.

He assumed his place would go back to its default Spartan state after the holiday party turned kidnapping ended. But Annie informed him that the pillows were part of her gift to him, something to make his bachelor pad a little homier. It did give the impression that Annie moved in with him, which would be a problem if he ever tried to bring a woman that wasn’t Annie home with him, but he didn’t mind. He decided he’d deal with it if and when it became an issue.

Years later that same bright green and floral pillows were still on his couch, a little splash of color in his beige life. Who would have thought something as dumb as _throw pillows_ could make him miss her so damn much? But even though it made his heart ache a bit, it also let him imagine what _their place_ will look like, because eventually (hopefully) they’ll have a place together, whether it’s this apartment or something bigger, or closer to Denver, or wherever Annie’s career takes her.

They say home is where the heart is after all, which means home is with her.

* * *

**Ruthie**

Even though Annie is _all grown up_ now, she still insisted on keeping an absurdly large collection of stuffed animals (which she insists on calling stuffies) on her bed. The majority were put in storage with the rest of the things she was unable to take to D.C. so Britta could sublet Annie’s room. She brought one (or two or three) with her so that she’d have something to cuddle with while she slept in the strange new city, but she also left one behind.

She conveniently “forgot” one of her favorites, a kangaroo named Ruthie, as indicated by the pink Post-It note he found in her pouch. The same note, written in Annie’s neat handwriting, implored him to return Ruthie to her in D.C. As excuses to visit go, it was adorably transparent, which was so on brand for Annie it put a lump in Jeff’s throat.

He put Ruthie on his dresser, because he’s a grown man and it’s not like he’s going to snuggle up with the ridiculous little thing, no matter how much it reminds him of Annie. Britta told him once that no sense is more powerfully linked to memory than smell. Jeff looked it up, and oddly enough, she was right, though of course he never admitted it. But Ruthie the Kangaroo smells like Annie’s shampoo and Annie’s lotion and that undefinable, yet familiar scent that’s unquestionably Annie. As promised, he brought Ruthie with him when he flew to D.C. to visit her, but in spite of his best effort to return her to her rightful owner, he still found the little kangaroo sitting in his luggage with a note in her pouch that said _see you soon_.

* * *

**Photos**

In the week before Annie left for D.C., they had several mature, adult, candid conversations (when they weren’t busy making up for _six years_ of unresolved sexual tension) in which they discussed how they feel about each other, what they want, and what that means for their future. Because it is _their_ future now, because Jeff and Annie are (finally) in a _relationship_ now, with kissing, cuddling, banter, sex, and the looming threat of a lifetime of happiness together. Which meant it was perfectly normal for Jeff to have a photo of his _girlfriend_ set as the wallpaper on his phone.

It’s taken from a high angle in front of the Washington Monument, because she’s a Millennial and she knows how to take a proper selfie. She’s wearing one of her blazers that she started wearing during their fifth year at Greendale. Sometimes he misses her little cardigans and floral dresses, but this is a good look for her too. She’s striking a secret agent pose, with her right hand in a finger gun pointed up in the air and pressed against her cheek with her eyes sparkling and her lips pursed in a mischievous smirk. She looks like a huge dork and he fell in love with her again a little each time he looked at his phone.

This wasn’t the only photo she sent him of course. It was one of dozens. Most are of D.C. landmarks (which he didn’t have the heart to tell her are boring as hell), but the rest were mostly pictures of her, random selfies taken throughout her time there. Whenever she sent one that he found particularly amusing or alluring he’d change it, but Agent Annie remained his favorite until the day she came back to him.

* * *

**Ring**

The stone is amethyst, with a silver band, because purple is Annie’s favorite color and it contrasts better against silver than gold and _maybe_ he snooped through her wedding binder(s) to get some ideas about her taste in jewelry while he was supposed to be cat-sitting for Britta, not that anyone can prove that.

And yes, from an outside perspective, buying an engagement ring for a woman he’s _technically_ only been dating for three months (mostly long-distance) is batshit crazy. Still, he isn’t so far gone that he tried something as stupid as proposing to her at the airport or anything. He managed to wait a reasonably respectable amount of time, even though the little black box was burning a hole in his pocket for the better part of a year.

The truth is, Jeff Winger was in love Annie Edison for _years_ , longer than he knew it and longer than he was willing to admit it. Strange, confusing, infuriating, painful, wonderful years. He knows what he wants, and he knows what she wants too, so at a certain point it was no longer a matter of if he would ask her, but when. And so, when he _finally_ asked Annie to be his wife, her eyes and her smile gave away her answer before she could say it out loud. Because after all these years and everything she’s given him, a ring and a promise to love her for the rest of his life was the least he could do.


End file.
